Ravens-3 -- The Keys to Beating the PoeBirds

January 16, 2009 by Still Mill

AFC title game pregame

Ravens-3 �--�The Keys to Beating the PoeBirds

The Stillers host the hated PoeBirds in the AFC Title game.� The Stillers eked by in both wins over the Peckerheads this season.�
No one seems to play the Stillers with the kind of stinginess and
tenacity that the Ravens seem to come up with every time these 2 foes
meet.� Please note that I�ll be in da house for the game !!�Got my
tickets yesterday !�

Offensive Keys:

- Keeping Balt off balance.�� As noted
last week, if Arians, the supreme dullard that he is, is going to roll out
another vanilla, bland as skim milk game plan, it�s gonna
be an ugly, tight ballgame.� Blandly
plunging Parker up the gut and having BenRoth take
5-step drops amidst whale-shit pass patterns, will be a recipe for
disaster.�� Unbelievably, Arians, for the
first time since the season opener, actually shook things up a bit last week
and kept the SD Bolts off balance.� Of
course, it must happen again this week.� This
is the playoffs; it�s do or die.� Boots, rolls, reverses, slip screens, shovel
passes (hasn�t been one all season) -- all must be considered and ready to
run.� Of course, nothing should be done
in a grab-bag fashion.� If Balt is overpursuing, then adjust
and call a play that exploits the over-pursuit.�
Tempo should be UP, rather than the glacially slow pace that Arians
stupidly loves to promulgate.� The
no-huddle should be used early and often, if nothing else to keep Balt. guessing and limit their
package defenses.� �Coach Harbaugh is going
to go for all the marbles with an aggressive, hell-bent defensive game
plan.� And perhaps most importantly,
Arians and the offense must be fully prepared for overly aggressive
RUN-BLITZING on 1st and 2nd downs and some varieties of jailhouse blitzes on
obvious passing downs.� �On a related side note, examine this info related
to Arians Nation - the Governor of
Stupidity:

������ The
Steelers had a remarkable lack of success on fourth down this season; they were
3 of 12 in the regular season, a 25 percent rate of success that ranked last in the league by a wide margin. Next to last
was Carolina at
37.8 percent. More than half the teams (17) converted at least half their
fourth-down plays.The Steelers added to their woeful rate by going
0 for 2 on fourth downs Sunday vs. SD (one was a fake punt).

We can talk about "execution", but the
plain fact of the matter is that NO TEAM has a more bland approach to 4th down
plays than Arians and his "handoff left" play that he runs 90% of the
time up left guard. The facts prove it. Dead last in the
league. No one else even close.

- Benji must be decisive.� This cannot be over-stated.� Timid, gun-shy pussifism
is a co-joining recipe for disaster.� On
1st or 2nd down, when in doubt, throw the ball away.� 1st down sacks that create a 2nd & 19, or
a fumble, will give Balt every
chance to steal this game.�� Knowing how anemic
their offense is, Balt�s defense lives for the big
turnover and they approach every game with an expectation -- not merely a hope
-- of getting 2-3 big turnovers.�� Ben
was decisive last week�.but he cannot rest on his laurels.� He must be smart, and decisive, again this
week.�

- More involvement from Moore.�� No player
has been more reliable this season, yet used in such a bizarre, forgetful
manner, as has Mewelde Moore.� The first 3 weeks of the season, despite
being a veteran whom Coach Tomlin had worked with, admired, and �recruited� as
a UFA, he was
treated like a rookie free agent who made the club on the last cut.� Only when Parker and Mendenhall were injured
was Moore, out
of desperation, given a good opportunity to produce.� And produce he did, quite superbly.� Then Parker returned to the lineup somewhat
late in the season, and Moore
was again vanquished to a 2-bit roleplayer.� In the critical battle against the Titans a
few weeks ago, Moore
had all of 3 carries and 2 catches.�

����� In the AFC Div playoff last week, Moore
again became the estranged leper, touching the ball in the 1st half only once
on the ground and once in the air, while seldom-used FB Carey Davis received an
exhausting amount of involvement in the offense.� Moore was the hero of Ravens-1, then was
never allowed to participate in the passing game in Ravens-2, in which he
caught zero passes.� Not only has Moore rushed the ball with
aplomb, but he also has firmly established himself as a trusty safety valve for
BenRoth and gives the passing game a tremendous boost
with his catching and shifty RAC skills.�
And forget the bullshit blather about how �Moore caused the lone sack last week�.� MaxiPad Starks
caused it, not Moore, who has been more than adequate as a blitz blocker.� We do not need slow-footed Carey Davis
getting lit up by RayRay on dumpoffs,
when Moore has
the shiftiness and quickness to make Ray and his fellow thugs miss.� Overall, Parker should still be used, as
should Russell on short-yardage plunges, but quite clearly Moore needs more�not
less.��

- Limit the goofy over-fascination with TEssolo
blocking DEs and man-eating LBs.
�We�ve seen Miller and Speath
get tossed aside like toddlers all season long on numerous botched blocking assignments.� Neither has the brawn to man-up against a DE
or an NFL caliber LB.� Sure, if the
Ravens had a small, flaccid LB of the caliber of say, Larry Foote, this might
be do-able�but the Ravens do not.� In the
last meeting, Trevor Pryce and Terrell Suggs took turns simply abusing and
humiliating Matthew Spaeth in such a loud, ridiculous manner that, in all
seriousness, Child and Human Welfare should have been called in to put an end
to the debasement, sodomy, and inhumanity.�
This doesn�t mean that the TEs should not be
providing double-team help and chip blocks.�
They should, and they must.� But
it does mean that Arians had better realize that asking either of these clumsy
blockers to man-up on the likes of any of the Raven LBs,
or a DE, is a recipe for disaster.� And I
don�t care if Suggs has a bad shoulder.�
Even if Suggs has a bad shoulder, along with pneumonia and a broken fibula,
he cannot be solo blocked by rumpgrinders like Miller
and Spaeth.�

- Get Miller out in the pattern.� A good
portion of the last meeting saw Heath Miller marooned in the backfield as a
valve blocker.� What bullshit
!!�� You�ve just given the Ratbirds what they want�.taking the 3rd best receiver on
the team out of the pass pattern, thereby allowing the Rats to lock extra horns
on Ward and Holmes.� Yes, Miller is a
mediocre run blocker, but he�s a terrific route-runner and has the best pair of
hands on the team besides Hinesy.� As note above, Moore is who you want as a sidecar
blocker.� Let Moore do his forte and let Miller do his
forte.� Don�t let the opposing defense
force you out of what your players do best.�

Defensive Keys:

- Pressure Joe Jacco.�� The ex-Pitt
rookie is more than capable of shredding this defense the way Ferry Collins did
a few weeks ago down in DollyLand.�� If, of
course, he�s given ample time to peruse downfield, nibble on a crumpet, and
then step unfettered into his throws.� Further,
Flacco has shown that he can quite capably complete
passes or throw passes away, given time. With pressure in his face, Jacco
easily becomes flustered.� WE
NEED TO FORCE him to force balls while under pressure and heat.....balls that
will either be clean-picked, or tipped and then picked. Ravens-1 was
turned around when Woodley/Harrison stripped the ball from Jacco
and Woodley scored that big TD.� Moving the ball versus Balt.will be arduous, especially with Arians running the offense. Getting
freebie points off 2-3 turnovers will be huge. More importantly, Dick LeBeau needs to keep Jacco jittery and bruised throughout the day.� None of this pansy-assed
3-man rush bullshit.�

- Take advantage of
the �over-help� on James Harrison.� In the 1st tilt, Jamie Harrison simply
ravaged LT Jared Gaither while Adam Terry started at RT.� Last tilt, Willie Anderson started at RT and backup
OT Adam Terry was used as an "extra TE", if you will, to give the LT,
Gaither, a hand with James Harrison. This effectively neutralized
Harrison. RT Willie Anderson had
a stinger in the 1H last week, but returned. At any rate, if Balt is going to overload with Terry helping Gaither,
then Woodley -- who appeared fresh as a daisy versus SD -- MUST create havoc
and beat up on Willie Anderson. And none of this
faggott LeBeau horseshit of dropping Woodley into constant coverage. If
only 4 men are rushing, Woodley MUST be 1 of
them. Neither Aaron Smith nor Keisel can generate anything
close to continual pressure, nor obviously can Fat Casey. With his
size and brawn, Woodley is the best pass-rushing talent on the team, and needs
to spend most of the game doing just that.�
MakeBalt. tie
up 2 blockers, then PUNISH them by exploiting Woodley on Anderson.

- Stop The Human Bowling
Ball.�
McClain rumbled and plowed with ease in the last tilt, gaining 87 yards
on 23 carries.� The Stiller defense had
problems stopping big LenDale White and also McClain,
who didn�t do anything fancy but rather put his head down and plowed hell-bent
into the line.� There was too much
shoulder-pawing at McClain, as well as the 230-lb. McGahee.� And Taunto Farrior, for no apparent reason,
was having considerable problems that game finding the huge bowling ball,
continually jumping into an area that was a good 10-12 feet from where McClain
actually was.�

- Limiting the Mason Killer.� The Stillers always seem to
bring out the best in WR Derrick Mason.� This
guy has played us, what, like 18 times in his career (dating back to the Oilers) and has eaten us alive each time. He is
the NFL version of Jack Clark of MLB fame, who simply tore apart Pirate
pitching at an astronomical pace. People fawn all over Hines Ward as
a supposed �sure Hall of Famer�.� Check out Mason�s stats�..if Ward is bound
for Canton,
then so is Mason, who has more 1,000 yard seasons (7) than Ward (5) and a slightly
higher YPC than Ward.� We can hopefully
minimize the impact of his inevitable 8 catches, at least 4 of which will be on
critical 3rd downs.� Note that, despite
being a possession receiver, the Ratbirds have
started using him downfield, capitalizing on opposing defenses being lulled
into complacency and then Mase simply stopping and
going.�

- Heap on Heap.� Despite the presence of The Winged God of LB
Coverage (Taunto Farrior), TEs have enjoyed pillaging
this Stiller defense on numerous occasions the past
couple of years.� Gates enjoyed wide open
frolicking most of last Sunday.� Ike and
Company can handle the Balt WR corps, but Heap presents
a mismatch that must be minimized.� Slowfooted Ryan Clark must actually get involved, and Troy
Pola needs to get over his achy calf, and fast.�

- Limit the exploitation of Farrior in the passing game.� Farrior now
has given up a long, big TD pass play in each of the past 2 playoff games, a
dubious distinction that is probably overlooked by all of the local media.� Due to the stubborn stupidity of LeBeau and
Tomlin, the Steelers start the very slowest pair of ILBs
in all of pro football.� This is just
ripe for bare-assed exposure on so-called running downs.� We all can remember Mo Jones-Drew�s long
catch-and-run in last year�s playoff loss, in which he easily beat the
clod-hopped coverage of Farrior, then eluded (while being 3 inches from the
sideline chalk) The Great Taunto� and
raced down the sidelines for a long TD.� Luckily,
the Ravens don�t have a Jones-Drew or a Sproles, but McGahee
can and will be used out of the backfield, and Todd Heap, as noted above, is
liable to have a big game prancing past a gasping Potsie.�

Synopsis:

Tomlin was much less conservative last week than his
initial playoff foray, and he must not back down from that.� To be sure, there is a difference between taking
a risk and outright gambling.�� Most everything
in life is risky, to include driving a car, riding an airplane, and downhill skiing.� Risks must be taken, however, in order to
secure victory.� Tomlin must go for the gusto.�

The biggest hurdle, by far, remains Bruce Arians, who
is more than capable of allowing Balt to dictate this
game and keeping it a 13-10 game deep into the 4Q, the kind of affair that Balt loves with fervent zeal.� Remember this -- nothing can be taken for
granted when Bruce Arians is running an offense in the playoffs.� Nothing.

It all adds
up to another dogfight.� I�ll be there at
Heinz and will give it my all to help pump up the Stillers and make Flacco feel like the greenhorn that he is.� The post-game report will be a day late, so
bear with me�.

(Still Mill
and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes
close�.)